Combination floor molding and electric conduit structure



Patented July 28, 1953 'f/MBITN LOOR MOLDING AND EJCTRIC UONDUIT STRUGTURE -Gharle's .Kutckm Los Angeles, Apnlcatiohvliay 18, 1951, Serial No. 226,978

- Claims.

invention relates 4to the art of 'electr'c'al installations in edinces, and particolarly in 'dwellings and especially to the provision of a combination of novel molding and vr'iovel electrical installation elements concealed 'therein and positioned thereby. As is generally known it 'is modern practice to install electrical wiring, usually in metal con duits, in the vvalls oi rooms, and to provide electi''cal youtlets 'at "Convenient points into which electrical equipment A'oi' various types may be iriiugeed.

Jln living rooms, bedrooms, nurseries 'and the like in which the artistic Iappearance `of the walls is an important lconsi'le'ration, electrical outlets are usually placed Aalonig `tlie hase'boards in order t avoid mairng the appearance of the walls, in which 1position they are 'corive'nient-1y located for the lattachmerit of door lamps and the like.

'The arrangement of the electrical outlets along the oase of the walls, while convenient, and nav'- ing the v'advantage of placing the 4outlets in reltively ih'c'on'spcuous positions, n'evi'ertheless pressents a hazard to young. 'children since theyvm'ay receivev "severe 'shocks caused by a v'child pushing metal objects into 'the outlets, or culling outa cnhe'cling 'plug and 'touching yboth .pl'ongs thereoi while the plus is still making contact.

.in order to minimize "the danger to children various attern'fzts have been made to provide elecf tr'icla-l outlets so arranged that lthe orifices in the outlet are covered by a ,'p'la'te 'which can be moved asidewhen 'the prongs 'of 'a connecting plug are inserted in the outlet. such outlets are .however relatively expensive and easily 'get out of order.

'It "is an "o'bjec't of my invention to provide a Wiring 'system including 'Wall outlets so arranged as to `be 'very inconspicuous, escaping :the 4notice of children, and also improving lthe .appearance o the room.

change in the usual position of electrical walloutlets requires that consideration be given to lthe freddy repair thereof in :the new position, since the spring contact `strips incorporated therein fare :subject 'to wear and to deformation due to occasional faulty engagement fof 'the eroz'igsidfia connector plugtherewitn.

It is accordingly a further iolject of my in- Vellln to provide a Wall 'Outlet coristrlrction incorporating ineinoers Jcarrying the 4'contacts vand detanaoly arranged inthe wall outlet boxes yso that "they 'ma'y b'e 'leadlly 'Withdrawn 'from the boxes'aind the contacts replaced. The wall ontlets of my invention therefore provide advantageous features independently o'l xtheir inertieina'i- Anosition 'in the system of 'my invention.

A lnirtlrer consideration in providing electr-Zi cal wiring .systems @or @buildings is that ibuiiding codes of 'many cities reduire such wiring to be enclosed in metal 'conduits to lessen ther/danger of flre due to exp'ose'iwirin'gbeing short-efraim by the insulation of fthe wire lbe'mg worn olfy am! the bare `wires coming into contact Iivith fone Eme other for with some metall structural Accordingly ift fis another {oo-lect fol my mwention to provide a novel electrical winne 'ccn-v striiction fior dwellings in which electrical 6conduit ymay be utilized :to aid in correctlypos'llilom ing the electrical outlets in 'a novel position.

The usual 'oaseboards running around the Ilo'o't of the Walls of rooms and behind which has -to be led to electrical youtlets 'arranged in the loaseboard, 'require to be *Worked "to provide openings for tneelectricel outlets andtlieeloctric wires, which may l`be arranged "in mtal conduits positioned fthe walls and have 'to heiconnected to the outlets thus consuming considerable time It is a further object of my invention, there fore, 4to provide prefa-bricated Plen'gths 'of metal conduit with outlet boxes :arranged at desired intervals therealong, and also lengths vof mitteln? formed molding incorporating aoaseboord like portion, which .molding contains land cono'els both 4the conduit Aand the outlet iboxesfthusssaw lng of 'considerable "time 'in "installation, facilitate ing rearrangement of electrical outlets', landinwvirding safer and more pleasing electrical V.imitib lations.

' Another object fof my invention .is to l:provide an -electrical wiring ,system im' dwellings lin which the moldingis'so formed 'as to-space theelectrical outlets va considehable fdistanee oo and include an overhangiing position fwhichicunzoesis the wiring-conoiuitsond maintenu; and conceals the Aoutlet vboxes fa downwardly wardly inclined vposition in relatim itc the v'contact carrying members ibelng dem held :in 'the outlet boxes Tand servln'g hold rno'1'difn-fg and tlie concealed A'conduit and youtlet boxes together in la self supporting aga-inst the walls of rooms.

Still 'further v1objects and features 'ol my invern tion 'win hereinafter rappear from the 'foliowixw description 'read with 'reference fto the accompanyn'g drawing which illustrates a ,preierre embodimentfoftheinvention.

In the drawings- Fig. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view di a Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on line 5-5 ofA Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a cross section taken on line 6-6 of Fig. l but drawn on a larger scale. y

Fig. 'I is a cross section taken on line v1-'I of Fig. 1 drawn on the same scale as Fig. 6.

Referring now to Fig. 1 the numeral I0 indicatesthe baseboard like portion of the improved molding extending along the foot of the walls II of a room. Running along the upper edge of thebaseboard i is an overhanging portion I2 of the molding machined out to receive the electrical conduit I3 which is fitted at desired locations \with outlet boxes, generally indicated at I4, of my invention, two of said boxes being shown in Fig. 2. The conduits are welded or otherwise rigidly connected to the outlet boxes to hold them in a downwardly and outwardly inclined position in relation to the wall II.

AThe conduit i3 is carried round the corners of the molding by connecting members, generally indicated by I5, Fig. 2. The molding I2 and connecting members I5 are more fully described later. l y Each outlet I4 comprises an outlet box I6 of metal to which the metal conduit I3 is secured, for instance, by welding or soldering as indicated at Il, Fig. 4. A terminal block I8 ofinsulating material is vdetachably tted into the back of the box- I6 and is retained therein, for instance, by means of lugs I9 instruck from the sides of the box andpressed into the side faces of the block. A pair of tubular terminals 20, 2 I, are molded into the block I8 and project forwardly from the front face thereof, the outer surface of the terminals being threaded as shown at 22.

lThe insulated wires 23, 24, of the house wiring circuit are connected to the pair of terminals byfidentical clamps 25 consisting of strips of metal bent double and drilled with a hole by which the clamps are mounted on the terminals. A bared length of wire 26 is clamped between the sides'of the clamps 25 and held in clamped position by nuts 21. It will be understood that one of each pair of terminals is connected to one Wire 23'or 24, while the other terminal is connected to the other wire. It will be noted that the terminal block arrangement described provides ample room for conveniently arranging the terminals and that provision -is made for connecting the terminals to their respective wires in a simple manner by means readily accessible from outside the outlet box and requiring only the use of usual tools.

A contact block 28 is tted into the front portion of Veach outlet box I6 and `is held removably therein by strips of resilient metal 29 molded at their inner ends into each side of the block 28. Said strips 29 are provided with struck out locking lugs 30 adapted to engage rmly in recesses 3I formed by striking out a portion of the sides ofthe outlet box. It will be noted that the sides 4 of the contact block 28 are recessed behind strips 29, as indicated at 32, so that by applying inward pressure simultaneously against the free ends of the strips 29, the lugs 30 thereon will be disengaged from recesses 3I, enabling block 28 to be slid outwardly from the outlet box.

A pair of shouldered pins 33 is held in the contact block in alinement with the openings in the tubular terminals 20, 2l. Said pins 33 are slotted inwardly from their outer ends and are slightly over-size for the openings in the tubular terminals so that they fit snugly therein when pushed into the terminals. The ends of the pins held in the contact block are reduced in diameter and threaded as shown at 34, the ends being screwed into knurled round nuts 35 molded into the contact block. Spring contact strips 36 are held in position in slots 31 in the contact block by their ends which are apertured to t on the reduced ends of the pins, said ends being clamped between the shoulders on the pins formed at the reduced portions of the stems, and the knurled nuts 35. Slots 3l permit direct access of a. pair of plug contacts with the contact strips 36.

The contact strips 36 may be backed up by a. plate 38 of insulating material held against the back of the contact block by a screw 39. It will be seen that by removing member 28 from the outlet box and plate 38 from its back the contact strips 36 may be released by unscrewing pins 33 and replaced if needed.

The wiring in its conduit is carried around the corners of the room by a small rectangular junction box indicated at 40 Fig. 7. The conduit Il is welded or soldered as indicated at 4I to one face of the box, the wires 23, 24 being brought through the opening within which the conduit is secured and taken through an opening in a cover plate 4Ia closing an otherwise open side of the box. Said opening is surrounded by a horizontal threaded flange 42 projecting from the plate IIa to which a length of conduit may be adjustably secured by a sleeve 43 having an inturned flange engaged with an annular projection 44 formed in` the wall of the conduit near its end, and threaded at its other end as indicated at 45.

A nipple 46 is provided having a nut like surface intermediate its length and having threads 41, 48 formed at its ends by which the nipple may be connected with sleeve 44 and flange 42.

The nat upper side 40a (Fig. 2) of the junction box 40 is positioned horizontally in the molding and the box is positioned with its edges against the walls meeting the corner of the room. so that the junction box may be used as a base point from which to operate, the outlet boxes being rigidly connected through the metal conduit I3 to the junction box at a uniform angle of in clination relative to the horizontal top of the box.

It will be noted from Figs. 1 and 6 that the electrical outlets are arranged slanting downwardly and away from the overhanging portion of the molding I2 which projects inwardly of the baseboard like portion I0. The manner in which the molding I2 is formed to maintain the conduit and electrical outlets in the required position is shown in Fig. 6.

The molding may be formed from lengths of wood milled out to provide a suitable recess or passage 49 the lower edge of which provides an inclined ledge I2a extending across the upper edgeof thebaseboard like portion I0 through-A out its length; except where it is cut away at I4a to provide for the insertion of the members 2.8.l Also the laterally projecting part ot the molding has a substantially flat downwardly facing surface portion 12b along its lower edge in which is formed the aforesaid cut away portions illu.

It will be noted that the top wall oi the recess H9 lits snugly against an upper corner of the outlet box so that upward pressure exerted in inserting a connector plug is adequately resisted.

The opening or passage Lili within the laterally projecting part l2 of the molding is also large enough to contain the connecting member or junction box i9 as shown in Fig. 6, so that the molding l2 may be simply cut to t the length of wall and the openings lilaJ for the outlet member 29 cut out at the proper locations very quickly and easily.

Preparatory to assembling the conduit and applied outlet boxes in their operative relation to the room, said conduit is held in a horizontal position at the proper height from the floor, whereupon the molding is brought into a juxtaposed relation thereto to enable the workman to locate and mark the openings Ma at the proper points along the length of the molding. Thereupon the molding is withdrawn from the conduit structure and the openings Ma are formed therein. Then the molding is 1re-juxtaposed in relation to the wall and conduit with the openings 14a registering with the outlet boxes i4.

This operation is carried around the room until the installation is completed, one or more junction boxes dll being used with or without an opening for the point of entry of the electrical conductors to place the electric circuit in the room into electric connection with the main supply line. Considering such point of entry into the room from the main line, leads 59 are tapped off the aforesaid wires 23 and 24, said leads being extended through a length of conduit section 5|, said section being secured by a coupling 52 to that side of the box which is opposite to its aforesaid cover plate l la, in the already described manner, as shown in the lower right hand portion of Fig. 7. At corners, where there is no point of entry of outside wires, the wires 23 and 24 of the adjacent conduits will be spliced together as indicated in Fig. 7, previous to the application of the cover plate Illa and the securing of the member 43 in place, as already stated. Obviously there may be times when it will not be necessary to make the junction shown in Fig. `7. In that event the wires 23 and 24 will be connected to the adjacent outlet boxes as shown in Figs. 2 and 5.

What I claim is:

1. An electrical wiring structure for buildings comprising molding abutting the wall of a room in an overlying relation to the floor level; outlet boxes concealed by said molding and maintained in a passage therein in a downwardly and outwardly directed position in relation to said wall; there being openings in said molding registering with said outlet boxes; an electric wiring conduit supported in said molding and rigidly connected to said outlet boxes; and electric conductors extending through said conduit and said outlet boxes and connecting them in an electric circuit; said outlet boxes having side portions provided internally with recesses; and contact blocks carrying strips of resilient metal furnished with locking lugs engageable with said recesses releasably to secure said contact blocks to said boxes; said strips of resilient metal projecting through said openings and being accessible for manual flexing whereby to disengage said locking lugs from said recesses and withdraw said Contact blocks through said openings.

2. The structure set forth in claim l and there being recesses in said contact blocks behind said strips into which the free ends of said strips are projectable when manually flexed to permit said lugs to become disengaged from the recesses which they normally occupy.

3. An electric wiring structure for buildings, comprising molding abutting the wall of a room in an overlying relation to the door thereof, aligned electrical conduit sections concealed by said molding and extending internally therealong, outlet boxes rigidly connected between adjacent ends of said electrical conduit sections and maintained in said molding in a downwardly inclined and concealed position, terminals mounted within said boxes, electrical wiring extending through said conduit sections and connected to said terminals to include them in an electric circuit, and contact blocks detachably mounted in said outlet boxes in electrical contact with said terminals, the contacts carried by said contact blocks being engageable with the prongs of electrical connector plugs inserted into said contact blocks through downwardly facing openings in said molding through which said contact blocks are manually withdrawable during the detaching thereof.

4.-. The subject matter of claim 3 and said outlet boxes having side portions provided internally with recesses, and said contact blocks carrying strips of resilient metal having free end portions extending through said openings, said strips being furnished with locking lugs engageable with said recesses releasably to secure said contact carrying members to said boxes, said free end portions being manually grippable to withdraw said contact blocks through said opening as aforesaid.

5. The subject matter of claim 3 and said contact blocks each comprising a body of insulating material having molded thereinto and projecting therefrom a pair of spaced apart parallel strips of resilient material, each of said strips having a free end portion extending through said opening carrying a locking lug, and said outlet boxes each having internal recesses with which said lugs releasably interlock.

CHARLES KUTCKA.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 414,922 Rodman Nov. 12, 1889 1,298,858 Anthony Apr. 1, 1919 1,835,251 Wetstein Dec. 8, 1931 2,093,677 Hickman Sept. 21, 1937 2,119,777 Clayton June 7, 1938 2,162,864 Rugg June 20, 1939 2,484,992 Ginther Oct. 18, 1949 

